Rake's Story Read online

  Dragon Clan New World #1:

  Rake’s Story

  LeRoy Clary

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Dragon Clan New World #1 Rake’s Story

  1st Edition

  Copyright © May 2019 LeRoy Clary

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Cover Design Contributors: Karen Clary

  Editor: Karen Clary

  Acknowledgments

  Good books are written by several exceptional people, all of whom have my thanks. This group sets my limits and helps establish the foundations for my books, keeping me on track as they progress.

  My beta readers, Lucy Jones-Nelson, Laurie Barcome, Gale Smith, Paul Eslinger, Dave Nelson, Sherri Oliver, Tracey G, and Pat Wyrembelski, all found lots of things for me to correct, and to improve. Thank you all. I want to publish the best books I can, and they are certainly better with your help.

  My wife puts up with me and deserves extra credit for her expertise in making the covers and her ideas—and she gives me the time to write.

  And my dog, Molly. She sits at my feet and watches me write every day.

  Books by LeRoy Clary

  The Mage’s Daughter Series

  The Mage’s Daughter: Discovery

  The Mage’s Daughter: Enlightenment

  The Mage’s Daughter: Retribution

  Dragon! Series

  Dragon! Book One: Stealing the Egg

  Dragon! Book Two: Gareth’s Revenge

  Dragon Clan Series

  Dragon Clan: In the Beginning (short introduction)

  Dragon Clan #1: Camilla’s Story

  Dragon Clan #2: Raymer’s Story

  Dragon Clan #3: Fleet’s Story

  Dragon Clan #4: Gray’s Story

  Dragon Clan #5: Tanner’s Story

  Dragon Clan #6: Anna’s Story

  Dragon Clan #7: Shill’s Story

  Dragon Clan #8: Creed’s Story

  The Last Dragon Series

  The Last Dragon: Book One

  The Last Dragon: Book Two

  The Last Dragon: Book Three

  The Last Dragon: Book Four

  TABLE OF CONTENT

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Contact Information

  Contact LeRoy Clary at [email protected] or message him on Facebook at: LeRoy Clary's Facebook Page if you have questions and/or suggestions

  You can “follow” LeRoy Clary on Amazon by going to: LeRoy Clary's Author Page. Amazon will then notify you about new releases.

  If you’d like to receive earlier notification of LeRoy Clary’s latest novel releases, books in progress, or other cool stuff, please sign-up for his mailing list by going to: leroyclary.com. Your e-mail address will never be shared, and you may unsubscribe at any time.

  OAKHAVEN MAP

  Notes from the Author:

  The world created in the Dragon Clan didn’t come about with a few keystrokes or in a single afternoon. It evolved over time, intentionally different in concept from other dragon series. That is part of the attraction. Unanswered questions abound. Defeating the enemy across the Endless Sea to end the series cheapens the story, in my opinion.

  So, after spending two years away from the Dragon Clan, allowing feedback from readers to simmer, I’ve decided to skip a few generations and see where things lie. In this new series, I hope to move the situations to characters who are a little older, more mature, and a location more defined. In the intervening two years, I’ve improved my writing skills, the pacing is not as frenetic as in the past, and the characters will be more interesting and better developed.

  Again, not wishing to rewrite the same old things, I will intentionally not reread the first eight books, but rely on my memory for the most part (there are some things I did research for accuracy). There will be errors, however, this series needs to be fresh, the situation and people unique, and without undue influence of what happened before. Forgive me if I blunder, as I surely will.

  My intent is to stay true to the storyline, if not to every detail.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Emma, Rake’s little sister, abruptly slapped her fork down beside her dinner plate. “I saw a Green Breslau this afternoon in the upper pasture.”

  Understanding the severity of the announcement, Rake paused with a chicken leg in one hand long enough to ask his father, “Do you think that means we’re all in danger?”

  Grace, his older sister snapped, “Don’t you?”

  “Maybe we should gather a council meeting of the entire Dragon Clan, “Rake gave his opinion before continuing his attack on the chicken. Then after thinking while chewing, he slyly added, “Including all the pretty women, of course.”

  “So, you can attend the meeting and make eyes at all of them?” Grace asked.

  He gave a lopsided smile intended to disarm. “I can’t help it if they want to spend time with me.”

  “Dragon Clan members come in both sexes son, as if you hadn’t noticed,” his father said in a manner that came as close to teasing as he ever got these days. “Try to stay up with the conversation. We’re talking about danger to all Dragon Clan, not about your imaginary girlfriends.”

  Despite his attempt at humor to lighten the mood, Rake felt the tension at the table tick upward another notch. He knew as well as the others what a green dragon from Breslau discovering their location meant.

  Grace pushed her plate aside as she leaned forward, demanding to be heard. “They’re coming for us. You know it and I know it. Breslau scum. The same invaders who ran us from our old homes in Old Princeton. We all knew this day would arrive.”

  Their father placed his palms flat on the table and half stood. He paused before speaking calmly to his three children in the manner a minister might address his flock on a serious occasion. As was the case with any father of any family, his task was often to defuse squabbles between the siblings. Today, it was to guide them to safety, whatever that might mean.

  “We don’t know for a fact that Breslau is sending an army here. We don’t even know if what Emma saw in the pasture was a genuine Breslau Green. However, if it belonged to Breslau, we can assume that other dispersed families saw it. They will spread the word and know what it means.”

  “If the other Dragon Clan families can even find us tucked away up here at the head of the valley,” Grace said, her doubt clear in her tone. She drew another sharp look from her father. She didn’t relent as she continued, “The Green dragon Emma saw was probably scouting the mountains, seeking to find the locations of any of any Dragon Clan, so the Breslau army will know exactly
where to look when they arrive.”

  The heat in her words held truth. Rake spoke easily, again trying to calm the tension in his sister, “Listen, I’ve also heard all the old stories about that king of Princeton being killed by a dragon dropping him from the sky so high he left a depression in the ground, and how his army was defeated when the troops ran away. No wonder they hate us. But are we making too much of a single sighting?”

  Grace added, “Well, you have to admit the Breslau invasion of Princeton was terrible. They destroyed every place where the Dragon Clan lived during the first year of their occupation. Wiped them all out with the help of the traitor-king.” She paused, then added as if uncertain, “It was King Ember that was the traitor, right? Sometimes, I get the stories mixed up.”

  “It was King Ember. And after the invasion and destruction of several Dragon Clan enclaves, our people cowardly ran away,” their father said sadly as he again took control of the conversation at the dinner table again. He continued in a voice that allowed no further objections or interruptions, “Many of us thought we should have remained in Princeton and fought to the death. More believed our only hope was to make the perilous journey across the waterless Brownlands between Oakhaven and Princeton, then keep going until we found a safe place to hide, which is what our family chose.”

  Rake reached for a thigh, the last piece of chicken on the platter and held it high to draw attention before speaking. “Come on. Heard those ideas a hundred times. Anybody want this last piece?”

  Emma sat up straighter in her chair. “The Green dragon I saw was searching for us. I wouldn’t lie about something that important. And it was definitely a Breslau Green.”

  Rake said, “Before everyone gets too excited, we need to be sure Emma is right in what she thinks she saw.” He tore half the meat from the thigh with his teeth to accentuate his statement.

  “It was what I saw,” she protested, her eyes wide with fright.

  He continued as if offering to make a huge sacrifice, “I guess I could go to the trading post and listen for rumors. Talk to people. Find out if others saw the same thing and what they think. You know, confirm her story.”

  His father exchanged a meaningful look and Rake knew his plan had worked, then his father continued seriously, “You will go to the trading post and ask around. Even the pretty young woman who works at the store who cannot take her eyes off you. Ask if anyone else has been talking about a dragon sighting. If she doesn’t, there is another young woman at the blacksmith shop you may wish to speak to. And listen to what others are saying or gossiping about. Even men.”

  Emma pulled her eyes from them with obvious disgust.

  She must have known her father was playing matchmaker for a son who needed a wife. He was growing older and more discontented living alone in the mountains by the day. Rake spoke before another angry outburst from her, “I believe you, Emma. You saw a green dragon, but none of us did.”

  “That’s because I was with the sheep in the high pasture. It looked right at me as it flew past,” Emma said, her jaw tight, her eyes flashing and ready to fight.

  Their father said as he raised his palms to prevent another long argument from starting, “The question is not what happened or if we believe you. It becomes one of how we react. We accept what you saw, Emma. All of us. If we decide wrong, we may lose our home, or worse, our lives.”

  Grace, abruptly stood and paced across the small room, pausing at the fireplace to stir the fire, blow the dust off the shelf that held their two treasured books, and nervously adjusted the heavy winter coats hanging on pegs. She took four strides in each direction, then spun back towards them as quickly as if she had heard a sharp noise. “There may be other explanations.”

  Rake tossed the last chicken bone onto his plate with a clatter and eyed the remaining biscuit. “We’ve lived here our entire lives and have never seen one of their Greens. Our Greens, sure. And our Reds, Blues, and Blacks. This is a first.”

  Their father spoke quickly, “I suggest we all relax.”

  “I’m not disputing you,” Emma said with an air of forced calm. “Only trying in my clumsy way to implement your suggestion. We don’t have to panic, but I have also heard the old stories. Waiting for a second sighting is a good idea, but if and when the second sighting happens, we may not have time to prepare for an escape. I think we should prepare now. If we never have to flee, great. But we should always be ready.”

  Their father said as if giving up, “Overreacting is as bad as doing nothing. We’ll set a watch. Each of us will stand duty for part of the day. Will that satisfy everyone?”

  Rake chewed the dry biscuit and watched, knowing that nothing had ended. Not with his sisters and their strong wills. His father had once been a strong man, a leader of their kind until his wife died suddenly. After that, he had died a little each day.

  However, Grace obviously had more to say. Her face flushed and she lifted her chin defiantly. Her eyes flashed with anger and fear as she looked at her father. “I will dutifully stand whatever dragon-watch you assign me.”

  “Good,” he snapped as if trying to end the conversation with the single word.

  She didn’t flinch or retreat. “May I ask that since my days are already filled to overflowing with sewing, cooking, cleaning, and a hundred other chores to aid our family, which of them should I ignore? Do I need to prepare the ground for spring planting, or butcher a chicken for the pot? Should we wear filthy clothing or eat from bowls that are unclean because I’m assigned to watch the empty sky?”

  He had started to frown with her first caustic words. Something of his old manner lurked just under the surface. He barked, “Emma and Rake can stand the watches.”

  She didn’t back down and continued speaking as if agreeing with him, “So, who will watch the sheep and goats when Emma is looking up at the sky for half a day? Who will let them out of the corral in the morning and bring them home at night? And will Rake leave his hunting bow and fishing lines here instead of going out and providing meat for us? Can he set aside splitting firewood, oiling the leather straps on the plow, or tanning the hides hanging beside the barn that we trade for necessities at the trading post as he sits idly watching the sky?”

  Without another word, their father stood and strode across the room to stand near the fireplace, leaving them to look at his back. The hurt in his eyes had been clear. Ever since their mother died, he had made few decisions. Now that he had made this one, Grace had refuted his every word.

  Emma hung her head and said, “I wish I hadn’t said anything about seeing the dragon.”

  “Doing that might have cost us all our lives,” Grace barked at her, louder than necessary.

  Emma replied, “I’ll have a bundle tied and ready for us to take if we flee. And we should hide a cache in the woods, just in case we can’t return to the cabin. And decide on a place to meet up, if we get separated.”

  Rake looked from one to the other. “Now you’re scaring me.”

  Grace moved to his side. At just over twenty, he itched to leave home and find his way in the world. He said, “I can hike down the valley and ask around as Father said.”

  She tried withholding a smirk. “All right, it sounds like a good idea, but remember this: It’s a mission for our family, not a day for you to primp and smile at every female you encounter between the ages of fifteen and fifty.”

  Rake pushed himself back from the table with Grace’s warning stinging his ears.

  Emma watched him with a scowl that he ignored. She said to Grace, “You were right. He just wants to go to the trading post and meet any girls he can find.”

  Rake paused, choosing his next words carefully, but before he could speak, his older sister did. Grace turned to Emma. “That’s as it should be. Rake is past the age for him to find a wife. Besides, the last time you and I went to the trading post together, you found at least four boys near your age to watch, and don’t try to tell me any different. I had to ask you three times if you remem
bered to bring the list of things we were supposed to get.”

  “I had it in my pocket.”

  “No matter, I still had to ask three times. Your eyes were glued to that tall boy with the red hair who watches everything you do with a silly smile on his face.”

  “It’s noisy in the village. I didn’t hear you speak to me, Grace. And I was not looking at him like that.” Her cheeks were suddenly pink, and she looked away.

  Grace turned to the table and began clearing the dishes as she said softly, She paused, holding a plate in her hand as she said softly, “I suppose all the noise there also kept you from feeling my hand touching your shoulder to draw your attention when that boy on the black horse rode down the street.”

  “It was brown.”

  “I know what color the horse was. We were both looking at the same one.” Grace turned away before Emma could see the smile or hear her soft chuckle. The few chicken remains went into the bottomless pot near the fire, bones and all. She scooped more dried red beans and a small handful of spotted beans into the pot and moved the swingarm closer to the fire. She added enough water to bring it up to the fill-line and crushed a single dried red pepper into flakes between her fingers to add a little flavor. Simmering overnight would have it ready for the next day’s meals.

  Their father spun around from the fireplace and faced them as he announced firmly, “We will make our plans after we hear back from Rake. I want no more argument over it.”

  “I see,” Grace said. “You’re ordering him to go.”